How Recruiters Perceive Personality and Job Performance

In today's digital age, where social media plays an integral role in our personal and professional lives, employers and HR personnel increasingly use these platforms to gather information about potential and current employees. As online interactions become more prevalent, so too does the open discussion of mental health issues on social media. However, despite the growing awareness of mental health, individuals with these conditions continue to face stigma, both in society and in the workplace. This raises the question of whether sharing personal struggles with mental health on social media can negatively impact one's professional image.

To address this concern, psychology professors Jenna McChesney from North Carolina State University and Lori Foster from Meredith College conducted a study in 2023 involving 409 individuals with hiring experience. Participants were divided into two groups: those who reviewed a LinkedIn profile containing posts about depression and anxiety, and those who reviewed a profile without such posts. Following this, participants evaluated the profile owner's work-related personality traits, including emotional stability, conscientiousness, job performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors. Subsequently, both groups listened to a recording of the profile owner's job interview and provided further evaluations. The findings revealed the following:

1. Posting about depression and anxiety on LinkedIn negatively impacted evaluators' perceptions of the applicant's work-related personality traits, specifically emotional stability and conscientiousness.
   
2. These posts did not affect evaluators' expectations of the applicant's job performance or organizational citizenship behaviors.
   
3. Listening to the job interview of an applicant who had posted about depression and anxiety resulted in a slight but significant increase in evaluators' perceptions of the applicant's emotional stability.
   

In summary, disclosing struggles with depression and anxiety on LinkedIn and other social media platforms can negatively influence the perceptions of evaluators, particularly those involved in hiring decisions. These disclosures may lead to the perception that the individual possesses lower levels of emotional stability and conscientiousness, traits deemed essential for successful job performance. However, these posts do not impact perceptions of the applicant's job capabilities or organizational behavior. Interestingly, the interview stage appears to mitigate the initial negative impressions, leading to a slightly more positive evaluation of emotional stability.

Original Article

McChesney, J., & Foster, L. (2023). Is it #okaytosay I have anxiety and depression? Evaluations of job applicants who disclose mental health problems on LinkedIn. Journal of Business and Psychology, 39(3), 779–795.